Motorcycle ride honors deceased firefighters
ZELIENOPLE — Not only did a group of first responders show up Sunday for a 58-mile motorcycle ride honoring three young firefighters who died in January, 2010; the community also supported the annual event in record numbers.
Paul Reynolds, chairman of the Harmony Fire District’s Brotherhood Memorial Ride and a life member with Harmony Fire District, said 161 riders of more than 100 motorcycles attended the memorial ride Sunday morning, which originally started in 2010 to memorialize Sam Bucci, Elijah Lunsford and honorary member Trevor Barkley.
The ride raised “several thousand dollars,” and Reynolds said it was the best-attendance in recent memory.
“They show up when they have to; it's good to see in the community,” Reynolds said. “That's one of the better ones we've had.”
The ride is a fundraiser, with money raised through tickets and raffles at the event are donated to Zelienople Memorial Skate Park as well as to a fund for first responders in the area.
“We donate monetarily to different people within the area, not just within our fire service area,” Reynolds said. “We’ve gone out to Cranberry Township and down into Beaver County, Butler and Evans City. If there’s a need out there, we try to help the families that need it.”
The ride departed the skate park on East Beaver Street at 11:15 a.m., and had a police escort for the nonstop route which passed through Slippery Rock onto Route 108 before getting back on and heading back to Zelienople on Route 19.
Reynolds said a lot of people also lined the streets to watch the riders pass by, which was also encouraging.
“We had a large number of people in surrounding counties come out, a few motorcycle clubs,” Reynolds said. “Everything went fairly smoothly and saw a lot of support along the way.”
